For many, spending time with the wider family over the festive period is likely to have brought with it the knowledge that a loved one is in physical agony. Around 10 million people in the UK have arthritis or some form of a musculoskeletal condition, and sadly, osteoarthritis – the most common form of arthritis – is incurable.
Now for the good news. The days of wincing and bearing it, or undergoing painful, mood and body altering treatment could well be behind us. An injection-free, drug-free joint-lubrication product, FLEXISEQ®, is here promising to help ease the pain, and both experts and sufferers are impressed.
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The gel, which works by seeping through the skin to formulate a lubricating layer on damaged cartilage, has been awarded an innovation of the year award by the Federal Association of German Pharmacists, and in Ireland, where it has just recently won Best New Product at the Pharmacy Awards, it is often referred to as a ‘Wonder Gel’.
But does it actually work? Let’s take a closer look.
It’s drug-free
To those wary of new-age alternative therapies, this might sound like just another placebo product masquerading as this year’s ‘miracle cure’. Proper treatments aren’t meant to be drug-free, right?
‘Most people with osteoarthritis live with chronic pain (and) can’t take or can’t tolerate oral analgesics because of the side effects,’ pointed out Professor Philip Conaghan, who conducted a large clinical study on the effectiveness of FLEXISEQ, adding there was ‘a huge unmet need for effective and safe analgesics for osteoarthritis.’
Heartened to find a therapy that doesn’t include a topical anti-inflammatory drug to help osteoarthritis pain, he identified FLEXISEQ as ‘targeted, effective, drug free and safe’.
Avoids the usual side-effects
The most common treatment for osteoarthritis are Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory (NSAID) Drugs such as Ibuprofen and diclofenac, which leave patients at risk from gastrointestinal and cardiovascular side effects, as reported in The Lancet. As well as being the subject of health warnings from the European Medicines Agency, around 16,500 unnecessary deaths a year in America alone are attributed to NSAIDs.
A study on the effectiveness and safety profile of FLEXISEQ conducted in 39 clinical sites in the US saw patients experience a significant reduction in pain and stiffness as well as an improvement in overall joint function. And as one would expect from a drug-free non-systemic treatment, it was well tolerated, with the only product-related adverse event being mild to moderate local skin irritations that disappeared after continued use.
It doesn’t interfere with other treatments
For those already undergoing treatment including NSAIDs and reluctant to stop in favour of trying out a new therapy needn’t worry. FLEXISEQ has no known interactions with other medicines, so can be taken alongside anything else found in the medicine cabinet.
It's not only for the elderly
Even though osteoarthritis is the third most common diagnosis for the elderly, many young people suffer from joint pain and stiffness, especially those who are involved in strenuous physical activities. FLEXISEQ Sport, screened to be free of any trace substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), has been tested on and developed with professional athletes, across many sporting disciplines to manage joint pain and restore function.
Now there’s a relief.
• FLEXISEQ is available from all LloydsPharmacy stoes and online at arthritisresearchuk.org. For further information, log onto flexiseq.com